The Steamboat Erie, A Lovely Party | Chapter 13: A Lake Journey | Forty Years in America (1821-1861)

Forty Years of American Life 1821-1861
Thomas Low Nichols

The Steamboat Erie

It was in the summer of 1839 that I first traveled by steamboat on the Great Lakes—which lie between America and Canada and are shared by both countries, though not equally, in a friendly manner (Lake Michigan lies entirely within this great republic). A beautiful new steamboat, the Erie (Captain Titus), set out on its maiden voyage, and I was invited to the party.

A Lovely Party

It was a very lovely party. A band played, and we danced during the pleasant afternoons and moonlit nights. Every day was like a festival. We chatted, played, sang, ate delicious dinners, drank wine offered by the captain, enjoyed the beautiful scenery, visited all the prosperous cities appearing around the lake, received rich and heartfelt hospitality everywhere, and, as the Americans say, had a "good time."

Looking back on it all, the fact that this fast and beautiful steamboat burned down near Buffalo two or three years later while carrying passengers, resulting in the deaths of the captain and many of the crew and passengers, never leaves my mind.